WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who was sentenced to 60 days in jail for leaving the scene after hitting a pedestrian, who later died, has been released from jail after serving two days.

District Judge Terry Pullman released 55-year-old Cary Whitlock, of Clearwater, on Monday and sent him to work release for the rest of his 60-day sentence.

Whitlock pleaded no contest in January to leaving the scene of an accident. The September 2014 accident resulted in the death of 43-year-old Jeremy Napier, of Clearwater. Prosecutors say Napier was walking near Clearwater when he was hit by a vehicle, which drove away. He was run over by a second vehicle.

The Wichita Eagle reports coroners couldn’t determine which blow caused Napier’s death, so Whitlock wasn’t charged with a more serious crime.

PRATT − A Mississippi man has been charged with attempted first degree murder and related charges, according to a media release from Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

He filed criminal charges against Alex Bridges Deaton, 28, in connection with an incident that occurred Wednesday in Pratt.

The charges are one count of attempted first degree murder, one count of aggravated robbery, one count of theft and one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. Bond has been set at $5 million.

Deaton is scheduled for a first appearance March 6 at 11a.m. in Pratt County District Court.

Criminal charges are merely accusations. Individuals are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

COLWICH, Kan. (AP) — Ethanol producer ICM says it is planning a $175 million bio-refinery in Colwich.

The company said in a news release Thursday that the plant, ICM Element, will create 50 new permanent jobs, as well as construction jobs.

At full production, the plant will buy more than 22 million bushels of corn and sorghum. ICM says the planning is in its final stages.

The new plant would be on 80 acres just ICM’s main plant in Colwich.

Colwich Mayor Terry Spexarth says the city council is considering providing 10 years of tax abatements. He says after 10 years, the plant could provide about $1.8 million to the community.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge wants to hear oral arguments on a newspaper’s request to disclose the federal government’s reasons for putting wiretaps on the phone communications of a former state legislator, a Wichita businessman and others.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren set a hearing for Tuesday in federal court on the motion filed by The Wichita Eagle. Five of the paper’s current or former employees were notified their calls with Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell and businessman Brandon Steven had been intercepted.

The U.S. attorney’s office says disclosing the information would jeopardize its investigation. The government contends no one has been charged and no evidence has been introduced in any civil or criminal proceedings. It calls the request a “thinly veiled First Amendment argument” to obtain access to sealed documents.

MCPHERSON COUNTY -A small plane made a rough landing in McPherson County on Thursday afternoon.

The aircraft went down in a field in the 200 Block of Church Street near Gypsum, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. The pilot was not seriously injured and intended to seek medical attention.

Cause of the incident or other details were not immediately available.

Check Hays Post for more information as it is released.

 

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 25-year-old Kansas woman has been accused of battery of an infant and running an unlicensed child care facility.

The Kansas City Star reports that Paige E. Hatfield of Olathe was charged Wednesday with one count each of aggravated battery and unlawfully running a child care facility without the proper license.

Hatfield is accused of critically injuring an infant who was less than 6 months old on Jan. 30. She allegedly unlawfully operated the child care facility from Jan. 1 through Feb. 3.

Hatfield was released from the Johnson County jail on a $25,000 bond Wednesday evening. She’s scheduled to appear in court March 10.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a Kansas Supreme Court ruling on public school funding (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is calling on legislators to enact school choice measures in response to a state Supreme Court ruling directing the state to increase its spending on public schools.

The conservative Republican governor said in a statement Thursday that the GOP-controlled Legislature has an opportunity to engage in what he called “transformative educational reform.”

Brownback said lawmakers should write a new school funding formula that puts students first and focuses on performance.

But he added that the state should give parents of struggling students a greater say over their children’s education. He said if parents do not believe a public school is best, they should have the resources to make other choices.

The governor was not more specific about what school choice measures he advocates.

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Several parents say they’re pleased with a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that directs the state to increase spending on its public schools.

Taunia Ross from the Kansas City suburb of Olathe said Thursday that additional state dollars would improve schools and parents would not have to pay as much in fees. She is the mother of four children aged 8 to 22.

Angie Sutton of Ottawa in eastern Kansas said legislators “absolutely” should be spending more on schools. She’s the mother of a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old.

In Wichita, community activist Djuan Wash pointed to the court’s finding that a significant percentage of minority students aren’t proficient in reading and math. Wash says such problems help create a cycle of poverty. Wash is the father of a 9-year-old daughter.

4:20 p.m.

Kansas’ attorney general says a state Supreme Court ruling suggests that lawmakers should concentrate on helping underperforming students by boosting spending on public schools.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt called Thursday for a “bold legislative response” to comply with the court’s order in a lawsuit filed by four school districts against the state in 2010.

The high court said the state’s funding for public schools is not adequate but did not say how much more lawmakers must provide.

In its decision, the court noted that about a quarter of the state’s students aren’t proficient in reading and math with higher percentages for minorities.

Schmidt said such a statement implies that underperforming students should be lawmakers’ main focus in crafting a new school funding formula before the court’s June 30 deadline.

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12:10 p.m.

Attorneys for four Kansas school districts that are suing the state to increase school funding say the state Supreme Court’s new ruling will require a funding boost of at least $800 million per year.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state isn’t spending enough money on its schools to provide a suitable education to every child, which the state constitution requires. The justices did not set a specific figure for how much more the state must spend a year.

Attorneys Alan Rupe and John Robb say the ruling suggests that the increase must be sizeable because it affirmed a lower court panel’s findings that spending was inadequate.

Rupe and Robb represent the Dodge City, Hutchinson, Wichita and Kansas City, Kansas, districts. They used the state in 2010.

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11:15 a.m.

The Kansas Supreme Court has ordered the state to increase its spending on public schools, but it didn’t say by how much.  Read the court decision here.

The court ruled Thursday that legislators must enact a new education funding law by the end of June.

The decision comes with the state already facing projected budget shortfalls totaling more than $1 billion through June 2019. Lawmakers are considering rolling back steep income tax cuts championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

The justices ruled in a lawsuit filed by four school districts in 2010. They argued that legislators were violating the state constitution by failing to finance a suitable education for each of the state’s 458,000 students.

The districts argued for an $800 million increase in the state’s $4.1 billion in annual aid.

 

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court is preparing to rule on whether the state is spending enough money on its public schools to provide a suitable education for every child.

The court announced that it would issue a decision Thursday morning in a lawsuit filed in 2010 by four school districts. The districts have argued that the nearly $4.1 billion a year the state provides in aid to its 286 school districts about $800 million a year short of what’s necessary.

Previous rulings in the same lawsuit forced legislators and Republican Gov. Sam Brownback to boost aid to poor districts.

The decision comes with the state facing projected budget shortfalls totaling more than $1 billion through June 2019. Lawmakers already are considering rolling back past income tax cuts championed by Brownback.

MANHATTAN – Officials are still working to determine the cause of Thursday morning’s fire in Aggieville.

Just before 4a.m. the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 700 N. Manhattan Avenue previously the Dusty Bookshelf, for a report of a structure fire. 

Upon arrival, crews found a two-story commercial structure with heavy smoke showing from the east end of the building, according to a media release from the Manhattan Fire Department.

 

Crews initiated an interior attack but after multiple attempts were unsuccessful at extinguishing the fire. With conditions worsening, the decision was made to transition to a defensive attack fighting the fire from outside the building. The fire reached a second alarm before it was contained within approximately three hours. A total of 30 firefighters responded on 7 fire apparatus with units still on scene at the time of this release. 

 

No injuries have been reported. One cat was rescued from a neighboring business.

The building was a two-story commercial building that was under a building permit, with the name of the new business being Co-op. The building is considered a total loss. 

The owner is listed as Sherilyn and Roger Bender of Sunrise Beach, Mo. 

 

There is also smoke damage to Varsity Donuts, 704 N. Manhattan, and Thread, 1224 Moro St. Both businesses are currently closed. 

 

The intersection of North Manhattan and Moro is also closed until further notice.

The fire cause is under investigation at this time. The Manhattan Fire Department, Riley County Police Department, Kansas Office of the State Marshal Fire (OSFM), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will conducting a joint investigation.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Crews have extinguished a fire that heavily damaged one building and caused smoke damage to two others in the Aggieville bar and shopping district near the Kansas State University campus.

Deputy Manhattan Fire Chief Ryan Almes says the fire was reported around 3:45 a.m. Thursday in a building that had housed a bookstore called the Dusty Bookshelf and was being renovated. Almes says dangerous conditions inside the building forced firefighters to exit the building. He says 30 firefighters then fought the blaze from outside the building before extinguishing it around 8 a.m. No one was hurt.

The fire also caused smoke damage to adjoining businesses that sell doughnuts and T-shirts. A cat was rescued from one of the businesses.

The state fire marshal’s office will help investigate the fire’s cause.

 

MANHATTAN – The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office is helping investigate the cause of Thursday’s  fire in the Aggieville bar and shopping district near the Kansas State University campus.

The Manhattan Fire Department said in a post early Thursday on its Facebook page that the fire was in a building that had housed a bookstore called the Dusty Bookshelf. The building was vacant and being renovated. .

No information was immediately available about what started the fire.

Riley County police are urging people to avoid the popular area.

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RILEY COUNTY- Crews are working a large, 2 alarm structure fire in 700 Block of Manhattan Street in the Aggieville bar and shopping district just east of the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan, according to a social media report from the Manhattan Fire Department.

The fire was reported just after 4 a.m.

 

 Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

BARTON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Barton County are investigating two college athletes on drug charges.

Just after 4p.m. Wednesday, officers from the Great Bend Police Department obtained a search warrant for a residence at 1123 Stone Street, Apartment A, based on information indicating that drugs were being sold from this location, according to a media release from police.

When officers knocked on the door and announced that they had a search warrant, the individuals inside refused to come to the door. Officers forced open the door and secured the individuals found inside.

During the execution of the search warrant, officers found evidence that a large quantity of marijuana had been flushed down a toilet in the house. The quantity of product flushed was enough that it had actually clogged the toilet.

Devon Baker, age 19, and Sean Taborsky, age 19, both students at Barton Community College from Wichita were arrested and turned over to the Barton County Jail. They are on the school’s wrestling team, according to the college web site.

They were both charged with Possession of Marijuana and Interference with a Law Enforcement Officer.

A third person, Tyrone Poole, age 19, was also on scene during the execution of the warrant, but was released on scene.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The condition of a Kansas convenience store clerk has been upgraded after police say he was shot by a fugitive charged with two Mississippi killings.

A spokeswoman for Via Christi Hospital in Wichita says the man was in fair condition Thursday. He was listed in critical condition after being shot Wednesday in Pratt as officers searched for the suspect, 28-year-old Alex Deaton.

Police say Deaton stole a vehicle after shooting the clerk. Deaton was arrested when the vehicle crashed about 80 miles away.

The clerk’s family has identified him as 19-year-old Riley Juel. His sister tells Wichita television station KSNW that her brother was able to call police and his mother after being wounded to tell them what happened.

Deaton also is suspected of killing his girlfriend and another woman in Mississippi, and kidnapping two hikers in New Mexico.

3:30 p.m.

A convenience store clerk in Kansas is in critical condition after police say he was shot by a fugitive charged with two murders in Mississippi.

Maria Loving, a spokeswoman for Via Christi Hospital in Wichita, says the clerk is in critical condition Wednesday but she could not release the man’s name.

Authorities say the man was shot Wednesday in Pratt as officers were searching for 28-year-old Alex Deaton. Pratt Police Sgt. Edward Gimpel said Deaton was being chased in a stolen car when he went into a Kwik Shop, shot the clerk and stole a vehicle. Deaton was later arrested when the vehicle car crashed in Ellsworth County.

Mississippi authorities have charged Deaton in the death last week of his girlfriend and the shooting death

of another woman at a rural Mississippi church. He’s also suspected of other crimes in Mississippi and New Mexico.

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Noon

Mississippi authorities say they will seek extradition of a fugitive who left a nearly 2,000-mile trail of violence that ended in a fiery crash Wednesday in central Kansas.

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey told reporters that Kansas authorities have agreed to hand over 28-year-old Alex Bridges Deaton, who is suspected of strangling his girlfriend last week in a suburb of Mississippi’s capital city. Deaton is then believed to have shot a jogger from the SUV he stole from the girlfriend, and officials say he may have also killed a woman at a rural Mississippi church.

Bailey says Deaton sent a series of texts, some incriminating, to friends and family before he went silent Saturday. He resurfaced Tuesday, with New Mexico authorities saying he carjacked and briefly abducted two hikers. Kansas authorities say he shot a store clerk in that state and stole another vehicle, before being captured following a chase.

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10:45 a.m.

Authorities have arrested a man suspected of shooting a Kansas convenience store clerk and kidnapping two hikers in New Mexico while on the run after his girlfriend was killed and a jogger was shot in Mississippi.

Kansas Highway Patrol trooper Tod Hileman said in a tweet that 28-year-old Alex Bridges Deaton was taken into custody Wednesday near the town of Wilson, about 80 miles from where the clerk was shot.

Kansas authorities began pursuing Deaton because he was driving a vehicle reported stolen in New Mexico. Kansas investigators say the suspect ditched the vehicle before shooting the clerk and stealing another vehicle. Hileman says Deaton was arrested after his vehicle crashed and caught fire.

Authorities were seeking Deaton in the death of 30-year-old Heather Robinson. Mississippi officials also consider him a suspect in the shooting death of a woman found dead at a rural church.

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ELLSWORTH COUNTY–  A suspect wanted for a Wednesday morning shooting in Pratt County is in custody after a chase and crash in Ellsworth County.

Just before 8a.m. on Wednesday, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper attempted to stop an eastbound black Cadillac on Interstate 70 just west of Bunker Hill Road, according to a media release from the KHP.

The vehicle matched the description of a vehicle included in an attempt to locate after a shooting at a convenience store in Pratt early Wednesday.

The suspect, Alex Deaton, 28, was wanted for the incident in Pratt County.  He refused to stop the vehicle and deputies successfully deployed stop sticks.  The driver took the Wilson exit and drove a mile south to the town of Wilson.  Troopers used tactical vehicle intervention to prevent Deaton and the vehicle from entering the community.

Officers caught Deaton after the Cadillac crashed and caught on fire. There were no injuries to officers or Deaton.

He faces charges through multiple county courts in Kansas and is also wanted for a double-murder in Mississippi and other crimes in multiple states including kidnapping two hikers in New Mexico while on the run after his girlfriend was killed and a jogger was shot in Mississippi.

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ELLSWORTH COUNTY–  The wanted suspect who allegedly shot a convenience store clerk Wednesday morning in Pratt County was arrested in Ellsworth County after a chase, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

The KHP is expected to release addition details later on Wednesday.

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PRATT COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Pratt County are investigating a shooting and stolen vehicle after officers engaged in a pursuit involving a vehicle that had been reported stolen from a location in New Mexico.

The vehicle was later abandoned by the suspect, who fled on foot to a convenience store located on the west side of Pratt, according to a media release from Pratt County Sheriff’s Department.

The suspect entered the store where he shot a clerk before stealing a vehicle from the parking lot. The stolen vehicle is described as a black, Cadillac CTS bearing Kansas license plate 013JVR.

The suspect in this case has been tentatively identified as 28-year-old Alex Bridges Deaton.

He is wanted for a homicide in Mississippi and a robbery and shooting in New Mexico.

Any who sees either the black Cadillac or Deaton is urged to contact law enforcement immediately.

Do no approach or make contact as Deaton is deemed armed and extremely dangerous.

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A 50-year-old woman accused of killing her estranged husband in Leavenworth, Kansas, will undergo mental competency testing.

The Leavenworth Times reports that a Leavenworth County judge on Wednesday ordered the testing for Barbara Marie Frantz, of Kansas City, Kansas. She’s charged with first-degree murder in the death of 54-year-old Gary Frantz.

Leavenworth police say Gary Frantz was shot several times Jan. 27 on a Leavenworth parking lot. Barbara Frantz was arrested hours later in Burlingame, Kansas.

Police have said the case involved domestic violence but did not offer further details.

The Kansas City Star has reported that Barbara Frantz referred to Gary Frantz as her ex-husband in a Facebook post in December. He listed his marital status on Facebook as separated.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A third person suspected of being involved in the burglary and beating of a Kansas woman in her home was before a judge Wednesday to hear the charges against him.

Joshua Rund, 39, was arrested in association with the case from May of 2016 but never read the complaint.

He faces charges of aggravated battery, aggravated burglary and aggravated intimidation of a witness or victim.

Police say Michala Cooprider, 20, is actually the one who entered the home and struck the victim, Lacy Lomax, with a flashlight while she was sleeping.

She was hit as many as six times and had to be hospitalized.

The alleged reason for the beating is over Lomax giving information to law enforcement over a burglary case in McPherson County.

Rund, who also entered pleas in three other cases, was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison, but then granted three-years community corrections.

The case involving the beating of Lomax will now move to a waiver-status docket on March 22.

By MEG WINGERTER

Kansas tax receipts came in about $37 million above estimates in February, chipping away at the state’s budget deficit.

The Kansas Budget Office on Wednesday reported about $331.5 million in tax receipts for the month, which was about 13 percent higher than projected revenue. Tax revenues were up about 9 percent compared to February 2016.

State tax collections have exceeded estimates since November, when the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group lowered its projections for the rest of fiscal year 2017. Collections fell short of estimates for the first four months of the fiscal year.

Secretary of Revenue Sam Williams said he was pleased to see growth in individual income taxes.

“Month-to-month sales tax(es) have increased 2.4 percent,” he said in a statement. He added that was “a hopeful sign that Kansans’ income growth means they have more money to spend.”

Total revenues for February came in around $326.7 million because transfers offset some of the state’s income. Kansas still has a budget gap of roughly $281 million for the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

Rep. Steven Johnson, an Assaria Republican who serves as chairman of the House Taxation Committee, said Wednesday that the additional revenue will make it easier for the House and Senate to agree on a tax plan for next fiscal year.

For example, the chambers could avoid a fight over whether tax increases should be retroactive if the extra revenues help keep the state out of the red until January 2018, he said.

“We still need to make sure we have a tax plan that will drive the revenue that’s needed,” he said.

Last week the Legislature and Gov. Sam Brownback battled over a tax plan that would roll back some income tax cuts adopted in 2012. The House and Senate approved the plan but were unable to come up with enough votes to override the governor’s veto. They are on a midsession break this week but return Monday to resume work on a budget.

While revenues have met the lowered projections, they haven’t come close to the original estimate overall. In November the estimating group cut its projections for the rest of the fiscal year by $346 million. So far, revenues have exceeded the lower estimates by about $68 million, though the state could make up more ground in the remaining four months of the fiscal year.

Tax collections in the current fiscal year have been higher than they were in the previous year in six out of eight months so far. Of the taxes Kansas levies, individual income receipts have been above 2016 more often than other taxes, though they still were prone to significant swings from month to month.

So far, tax revenues are up about $17.6 million compared to the previous fiscal year. The difference amounts to less than 0.5 percent.

Meg Wingerter is a reporter for kcur.org‘s Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach her on Twitter @MegWingerter.